Alarm signals into your monitoring software
Our alerts land in your monitoring software over SIA DC-09, on the right client, beside everything else your operators watch.
SIA DC-09 is the protocol your receiver already accepts from alarm panels. We send our own alerts over it, in SIA or Contact ID format. An alert such as "the box at this site is offline" then appears on the operator's screen like any other signal. Monitoring software with a DC-09 input can receive them; nothing is installed in the control room.
What this is, and is not
Supplementary signalling
Our alarm signals are supplementary fault signals. They tell your control room that a device has stopped answering, has a fault, or that a site’s network is down. They do not replace the alarm panel’s own communicator.
Only our alerts are sent this way. Your sites' own alarms (intruder, fire, camera motion) and camera video do not pass through it and reach you as they do today. Switching forwarding off stops only these alerts; email alerts carry on as set on the Alerts page.
Before you start
You need the Relay + Alerts plan and an owner sign-in; operators and viewers can read these settings but not change them. From your receiver you need its public address and port, the format its DC-09 input expects, and its encryption key if it uses one. You also need the account number of each client in your software, so each site's alerts land on the right record.
Enter the receiver settings
- In the portal, open Alert forwarding. The card Your monitoring software (SIA DC-09) holds the receiver settings.
- Fill in the fields below. Only Receiver address and Port are required.
- Switch on Forward alerts and choose Save.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Receiver address | Your receiver's public IP address or name. Our service connects to it from the internet, so it must be reachable there. |
| Port | The port its DC-09 input listens on. |
| Connection | TCP or UDP. Most receivers use TCP. |
| Backup receiver address and Backup port | Shown after you choose + Add a backup receiver. Used when the main receiver does not acknowledge. |
| Signal format | SIA (SIA-DCS) or Contact ID (ADM-CID): whichever your software expects on this input. |
| Receiver number | Optional: the R… field. |
| Line / account prefix | The L… field; 0 if unused. |
| Encryption key | Optional, if your receiver requires one. Under Key written as, choose Hex digits (32, 48 or 64) or Characters (16, 24 or 32), however your receiver shows it. Remove the key (send unencrypted) clears a saved key. |
| Account for Relayant itself | The account your software files Relayant's own events under: alerts about your local relays, the link check and tests. |
| Link check | Off, Every minute, Every 90 seconds, Every 5 minutes or Every hour. A regular message, so your software notices if our alerts stop arriving. |
We store the key encrypted and do not show it again. To change it, type a new one over the dots.
Tell the portal which client each site belongs to
Under Which client each site's alerts belong to, each site has a box for the account number of the matching client in your software. Type it and press Enter, or choose the tick. A Relayant alert about that site then lands on that client's record. A site without a number is not forwarded; you still get its alerts by email and in the portal. The badge without a number counts the sites still to do.
Choose which devices are forwarded
Forwarding is chosen per device, so a test camera at a site need not raise a signal.
- Open Device health and choose the device.
- Under Alerts and settings, switch on Send to your alarm software. Email alerts for this device sits beside it; either can be on or off.
- Note the device's Zone number. It is given from 801 to 999 the first time monitoring is switched on at that site, and not reused there. It is what your software sees. Map it to the device in your software.
Switching forwarding on for a device sends your software a "monitoring started" notice on that zone. Switching it off sends "monitoring stopped".
What is sent, and as what
The portal shows this table under Show exactly which Relayant alerts are forwarded, and as what. Each fault is followed by its restore when it clears, and the reason travels in the alarm text.
| Relayant alert | SIA | Contact ID | Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| The box at a site is offline, so its devices cannot be reached (on the site's account) | YC / YK | 350 new / restore | 701 |
| A site cannot reach any of your local relays | YC / YK | 350 new / restore | 702 |
| A site is using a backup internet line to reach your local relay | LT / LR | 351 new / restore | 702 |
| A site reaches only some of your local relays | LT / LR | 351 new / restore | 703 |
| One of your local relay PCs is offline (on your own account) | YC / YK | 356 new / restore | 700 for the first relay, 701 for the second, and so on |
| Most monitored devices at a site stopped answering at once: its network is down | YC / YK | 350 new / restore | 705 |
| A monitored device stopped answering | YS / YK | 356 new / restore | 801 to 999, one per device |
| A monitored device is on the network but its service is not answering, or it reports a fault | UT / UJ | 380 new / restore | 801 to 999, one per device |
| Monitoring of a device started | TS | 607 new | the device's zone |
| Monitoring of a device stopped | TE | 607 restore | the device's zone |
| A test sent from the portal | RX | 601 | 700 |
| The link check | NULL message | NULL message | none |
These signals describe our service's connection to the site and its devices, not the site's own alarm system. Alarm panels send the same event codes for their own faults on low zones. Ours use zone 700 or above. Site and box signals use zones 700 to 705; each device has its own zone from 801 to 999. Any zone of 700 or above is a signal from us; the site's own panel uses lower zones. Everything is sent on area 1. A site on test sends nothing. Warnings, such as a printer low on toner, stay in email and the portal and raise no signal.
Send a test
- Under Send a test alert, choose Your own account, or a site that has an account number.
- Choose Send test. We send a test report (SIA RX, Contact ID 601) on zone 700. It should appear in your software as a test.
- The portal shows Acknowledged by your receiver, with what was sent and what the receiver replied, or Not acknowledged with the reason.
The Send a test alert card appears once the receiver settings are saved.
If signals do not arrive
Work down this list; each item is the usual cause in turn.
- The receiver must accept connections from the internet on the address and port you entered. Check your control room's firewall and any port forward in front of the receiver.
- Your software must expect the format you chose under Signal format. If you set a key, it must match, written the same way.
- A site without an account number under Which client each site's alerts belong to is not forwarded.
- A device is forwarded only while Send to your alarm software is on for it.
- A signal the receiver does not acknowledge is retried automatically. The card shows the last error and how many signals are waiting.
- A site on test sends nothing until it is taken off test.
- Still nothing? Email [email protected] with the receiver's reply from the test, and we reply by email.
Something in this guide is wrong or missing? Tell us: [email protected].